Day 5: Choose Your 30 x 3 Exercise | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
Welcome to Day 5 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon.
Today we’ll be committing to — dun dun DUN! — an exercise program!!
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to complete them.
We only have 10 minutes, so move fast, act quickly and stop over-thinking. Just throw yourself in. Ready?
What You Need:
- Your diary.
Important Note: Get medical clearance if you need it
It’s a good idea to get the all-clear to exercise from your medical professional if:
- You’re new to exercise
- You haven’t exercised in a long time
- You’re significantly overweight
- You have a medical condition or concern
- You’re nervous about exercising.
Step 1
The first step today is to have a little talk with yourself and make peace with the idea that you are going to become a regular exerciser.
That might be something you’re OK with already. Cool – then this will be pretty easy.
Or it could fill you with dread and panic. In which case, take a deep breath because I’m going to let you in on a secret – one that anyone who’s ever lost weight will confirm if you ask them.
As you start to lose weight, you start to enjoy exercising. It may seem hard to believe now, but it’s true.
So comfort yourself that soon, a kind of pleasure will start to kick in. Maybe not a rocking good time, but a definite this-isn’t-so-bad-ness. You just have to get past the beginning.
Step 2
Next, let’s find out what you like and don’t like, workout-wise. Some questions can help:
- Do you prefer to be indoors or outdoors?
- Do you like to work out alone or in a group?
- Do you prefer high or low impact activities?
- Do you prefer a consistent or varied pace?
- Do you want to start easy or be immediately challenged?
- Do you prefer music, TV, or your own thoughts when you exercise?
- Do you feel most energetic in the morning, afternoon or evening?
Once you’ve considered your answers, you’ll find it easier to choose a type of exercise that will suit you.
Step 3
Bearing in mind those preferences from Step 2, you need to:
- Choose something active
- Be prepared to do it for at least 30 minutes at a time
- Be prepared to do it at least 3 times a week.
In total, that’s 1.5 hours a week. Less than a movie.
If you feel resistance welling up and find yourself formulating excuses why you can’t spare 1.5 hours a week, then gently remind yourself that:
- This amount of exercise is a small price to pay for looking good, feeling good and getting healthy
- If you don’t exercise, you run the risk of all sorts of expensive problems that will cost you a lot more time in the long run
- People with greater time pressures and more weight to lose than you have done it, and you can do it too
- There are wonderful rewards waiting for you, as you identified on Day 1.
Choose from the list below, or feel free to add something else. Just be sure your choice raises your heart rate and makes you sweat. Pilates, yoga and shopping can be added extras, but they generally don’t burn enough calories to be good weight-loss choices.
- Walking – brisk
- Walking – hills
- Running
- Jogging
- Skipping (with a rope)
- Cycling – outdoor
- Cycling – stationary
- Elliptical machine
- Treadmill
- Boxing
- Exercise classes – including step, combat, attack,
- Swimming
- Dancing
- Dance classes
- Sports that raise your heart rate and make you sweat – eg tennis, squash etc
- Exercise DVD.
Step 4
Now the part that makes all the difference.
Enter your exercise sessions for the rest of the month in your diary. Yep – put them right in there, at the times you’ll do them.
You’ve just made exercise dates with yourself. Please don’t be rude and stand yourself up.
Bonus Step For 52 Weight Loss Missions Members
Revisit Mission 9: Fit Exercise Into Your Life to remind yourself how to see exercise sessions as commitments. Prepare your answers for those times you’ve scheduled an exercise session and your boss/colleague/friend says, ‘Can you [stay late/attend a meeting/go out]’?
Check in!
And you’re done!
Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable. If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment.
See you tomorrow!
Running intervals on the treadmill for 2 miles = 30 minutes 6x a week.
I have started USING my membership to the gym. They have a Curves circuit room and I use it for 30 minutes a day and try to walk 10000 steps a day.
My group answered the following questions:
Exercising indoors in bad weather; outdoors weather permitting.
We prefer to exercise alone or with the opposite sex.
Our activities will be medium to begin with.
Our pace: No Pain No Gain; Push yourself and be consistent.
We will exercise at our own individualized pace.
If the opposite sex is not available: Use a Playboy/Playgirl Centerfold attached in front of you—that should get you motivated; music and your own thoughts.
Energy level: some are morning people and some are afternoon people.
This one was harder for me. I’m still in the getting started with exercise phase of my journey. I followed the mission and have my next month scheduled for exercise. I can’t wait to be in the I love to exercise phase. Right now I don’t love to exercise but I do like the after effects I’ve been experiencing since I started exercising. They are what get me to actually get up and do something.
I am doing Leslie Sansone videos but I just bought a new video to try to motivate me to exercise. I have been working a lot and have been letting the exercise slack to sleep. I am going to get more disciplined about exercising 5 days a week.
Done!
Day 5
done!
committed to walking 3times a week up hill.. for 30 mins..
I’m going to walk 30 min everyday at lunch. Tues, Wed and Fri. 🙂
I started the million step challenge at work.
Done! I have a nice sprained ankle which will limit me to a point, but I will not let it keep me down! I’m determined to do something positive for myself!
I will ride my bike at least 20 miles three times per week.
done done and done………..after getting back from doing a hour of exercises/swimming in the pool.
Treadmill- Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 30 minutes.
Up the mountain and back down…3 times a week. It’s just less than an hour round trip, but aiming to keep shaving time off of that. I pray that the weather cooperates.
will get onto walking three times a week, instead of reading while Ben is at tutor, I will walk that half hour.
Walking, Biking, and exercise videos. I know I can and WILL exercise at least 3 times per week for 30 minutes. Woo hoo, time to update my ipod!
I’m committed to going to the gym 3x week during lunch (my gym is near my work). I plan to start with intervals on the treadmill. Over Easter I’ll do videos since we’re off from work.
I’ve got the dates marked on my calendar to do some Just Dance on the Wii 3 times a week and will also hopefully sneek a walk in on some nice days!